The Associated Press reported recently that Montgomery County's school board has made a  symbolic push to get the Maryland General Assembly to raise the age a student must stay in school to 18.

Currently, students can drop out at 16 and, the AP reports, only the legislature can change that. But Montgomery County, whose graduation rate has fallen to its lowest level -- 87 percent -- this spring, is hoping to change the tide by voting on a measure last week to make the change to age 18. Most of the students who drop out in the county are 16 and 17 year olds.

Should other school boards take the same stand to encourage the state legislature to pass a bill requiring all students to be in school until 18?

Posted by Liz Bowie at 8:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Around the Region
        

On the paper's editorial pages today is a column by Loyola University's Joseph Ganem about the teaching of math.

He argues that some students are being taught overly complex math at too young an age. It is an interesting piece to read, although some commentors have suggested that perhaps his premise is wrong. Are we really teaching difficult concepts too early because of tests?

I wonder if that is correct because last week we wrote that the Maryland School Assessments for fourth-graders are some of the easiest in the nation.

What do math teachers think of Ganem's argument?

Posted by Liz Bowie at 1:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Around the Region
        

I'm working on a story about how high rates of absenteeism and illness among students are affecting schools. Several school systems throughout the country have already begun to make adjustments: A Florida county is looking to suspend its exam exemption policy to prevent sick students from dragging themselves in to make sure they can get out of finals. Some student athletes in New York are no longer allowed to shake hands after games.

Please send me a note with your stories about how things have changed in your school or district.  Are you having to adjust things in the classroom, such as assignments and project deadlines - or facing challenges in terms of just getting through curriculum with so many students out? 

Posted by Arin Gencer at 9:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Around the Nation, Around the Region
        

My story in today's paper takes a look at the increasing use of the Web 2.0 tool known as a wiki (not to be confused with Wikipedia, which is certainly in the same family).  These online spaces, which allow people to modify, contribute to and comment on content, are starting to take off in schools throughout Baltimore County, as well as the Carroll and Anne Arundel school systems.

You can check out Carroll's pilot wiki, done by social studies students at Northwest Middle last school year, to get an idea of what one looks like.

Teachers at Catonsville Middle, where I had the chance to observe a wiki lesson, say they have already noticed more engagement and interest among students - and several of the kids I spoke with were very much in favor of ditching traditional, hand-written class assignments for good. (I wonder how teachers and parents feel about that.)

One thing I found particularly interesting in all of this is how schools are working to teach students about Web etiquette, training them to flex their digital muscles with care.  Could these kids help usher in a new era of online civility?  Or is it too much to hope such lessons in polite discourse will stay with them?

Posted by Arin Gencer at 5:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (19)
Categories: Around the Region, Baltimore County, Teaching
        

Today I sat in on an annual conference for gifted-and-talented educators at Randallstown High School, which drew teachers from throughout the state.  There were a variety of sessions on ways to inspire creativity and critical thinking among students in math, science, reading and other areas - led by teachers from various area school systems. 

The keynote speaker was Dr. Bertie Kingore, a longtime gifted-and-talented educator who also held a session on books and teaching tools.

I thought I'd share some very interesting tips/tidbits from her session and another I attended - some of which could certainly apply to all types of students (or so this non-educator thinks).

A sample of Dr. Kingore's recommended children's books that promote higher-level thinking:

• First the Egg, Courage and If the World Were a Village for abstract and critical thinking
• My Dog is as Smelly as Dirty Socks, If... and The Dot for art, visual and spatial concepts
• Marianthe's Story: Painted Words and Spoken Memories and Winston the Book Wolf for inference
• If You Hopped Like a Frog, A Place for Zero and Sir Cumference Series for math concepts and terminology
• The Boy Who Loved Words, Once Upon 1001 Stories, Around the House the Fox Chased the Mouse and Mom and Dad Are Palindromes for oral and written language
• I Wanna Iguana and Joyful Noise for the concept of point of view
• Dear Deer (an exercise in homophones) and Pig in the Spigot for skills and written conventions

Kingore emphasized the importance of teachers documenting what they are doing - showing how they are covering the requirements (testing standards) even as they implement more creative strategies.

She also repeatedly reminded teachers to take Saturdays off.

After the reading workshop, I headed over to one whose title grabbed my attention - and evidently, that of the many teachers who crowded into the classroom: "The Singing Math Teacher."

Continue reading "Gifted-and-talented conference for Maryland teachers" »

Posted by Arin Gencer at 5:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)
Categories: Around the Region, Baltimore County, Teaching
        

Baltimore Freedom Academy students and members of the Maryland ACLU were in Washington, D.C., this week to view the work of the students, who took photographs of their run-down city schools for an exhibition called "Through Your Lens."  The exhibition, which spotlights the problems of antiquated buildings across the nation, is on display in the Rotunda of the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington. The work can be viewed online as well.

In 2004, a task force studying school facilities found that it would take $4 billion to bring buildings up to minimum adequacy, according to the ACLU. In Baltimore City, the school system said it needed $2.7 billion to modernize all of its schools.

Recently, more money has been designated to school construction, but the ACLU says it is not enough to keep up with the problems.

Baltimore City is not the only one with problems. Parents in Baltimore County have been fighting to get air conditioning installed in several recently renovated middle schools.

Continue reading "Student pictures of dilapidated school buildings on display" »

Posted by Liz Bowie at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (16)
Categories: Around the Region
        

Since a 14-year-old girl died of the H1N1 virus on Tuesday night. I have gotten some e-mails from parents saying that getting information out about prevention is important, but just as important is making sure that schools have the basics: soap and paper towels in the bathrooms and hand sanitizers in classrooms. I was wondering how uniform a problem the lack of supplies is in schools. So parents and teachers, can you tell us whether your schools are taking precautions? And are parents made nervous by the death of a girl who had no underlying illness when she got the flu?

Posted by Liz Bowie at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (20)
Categories: Around the Region
        

State officials launched a new Web site today, geared toward helping high school students plan and prepare for college. The site, www.MDgo4it.org, features a virtual college campus, as well as information about financial aid and college life in general.

Give it a whirl.  Tell me what you think.  Could this site help get students on track for higher education?

Posted by Arin Gencer at 5:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Around the Region
        

A Montgomery County parents group that is vigilant about keeping track of what goes on in the school system there sent an e-mail message out yesterday morning saying that Jerry Weast is in Northern Ireland advising the school system there. They are asking why he isn't in his office in Montgomery County doing his job.

They provided a video of him being interviewed as an education expert on the Belfast evening news as proof. County taxpayers are not footing the bill for the trip, says a Montgomery County spokesman. The Northern Ireland government is paying for the weeklong trip.

In any event, I thought readers might be interested in the video.

Posted by Liz Bowie at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (13)
Categories: Around the Region
        

Liz Bowie had a story in today's paper about the 2009 High School Assessment results, which indicate that making the tests a graduation requirement hasn't presented as big of an obstacle to students as originally feared, according to data provided by state education officials.

This news has some folks wondering whether the bar is being set too low, particularly as state officials say only 11 students did not graduate solely because of the assessment requirement.

Liz will have another story in tomorrow's paper, taking a look at the future of the HSAs, and where we go from here. Stay tuned.  Also, you can check out the results on the state's Web site, which also has an updated state watch list for schools failing to make adequate yearly progress.

In the meantime...what do you think?  Do the HSAs set the bar too low?  What do you think about the small number affected by this requirement (the city, for example, reported no students kept from graduating only because of the HSAs - but did represent about 20 percent of the waivers given to seniors statewide)?

Posted by Arin Gencer at 7:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (14)
Categories: Anne Arundel, Around the Region, Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Howard County, NCLB, Testing
        

We spend a lot of time concentrating on how to improve the achievement of African Americans and Hispanic students, but when I pore over data sometimes I wonder: Why aren't we analysing the achievement gap between Asians and whites? We have worked to close the achievement gap because of the educational inequities that have existed for years in African American communities, but we might also look at what makes Asian families so committed to high achievement. The fact is that Asians have higher pass rates on most of the state and national tests that I have taken a look at in the last several years.

One more piece of evidence on this subject crossed my desk today, in the form of the list of Maryland's National Merit Semifinalists. Nationally, 1.5 million juniors took the PSAT last year. Out of that group, the National Merit Scholarship Program selected the top 16,000 semifinalists who will then go on to compete to become National Merit Finalists. The finalists receive college scholarships.

So to be part of this crowd, you have to be pretty academically gifted. Congratulations to all those students who are on the list.

As I went down the list of students, I noticed the number of Asian surnames among the semifinalists as well as the large number who come from Montgomery Blair High School. In that high school alone, it appeared that about half of the names were Asian. 

The percentage of Asians on the list seemed to be higher than the percentage of Asians in the general population in Maryland. I wonder what educators have observed in their schools and classrooms? 

Posted by Liz Bowie at 3:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)
Categories: Around the Region
        

Several of the Sun education reporters went to schools in different districts to sit in on classes as they watched President Obama's speech to them at noon today. I was at Woodlawn High School in Baltimore County, where several classes were able to watch the speech live - and where, according to Principal Brian Scriven, there were plans to record the address for those who had lunch at the time it aired.  Viewing the speech was voluntary - as it was throughout the county and in other school systems, too. 

I was struck by some of the insights the students had in a discussion prior to the address - and how seriously many of them took the exercise, and the speech (I do remember high school, after all).

Stay tuned...I'll have more to share as we continue working on this story.

Posted by Arin Gencer at 1:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Around the Nation, Around the Region, Baltimore County
        

Harford County, which had announced Friday that it would not air the president’s speech at noon Tuesday,  amended this decision Tuesday and will “provide its students the opportunity” to view the president’s address by the end of the school day Thursday, according to the school system’s Web site. Parents can still opt to have their children not watch the speech.

The county previously said it would not air the speech Tuesday because its guidelines for broadcasts and videos require previewing materials shown to children and giving staff time to formulate responses and work the items into the regular classroom curriculum. It said on its Web site Tuesday that schools will use materials from both the district and the U.S. Department of Education to discuss the address.

Posted by Jennifer Badie at 11:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (36)
Categories: Around the Region
        

Here is the transcript of the president's speech, folks - also pasted below. 

I'm working on a story about this today and would like to get reactions from Maryland parents.  Please drop me a line or give me a call (410-332-6639).

Continue reading "President Obama's speech to students" »

Posted by Arin Gencer at 2:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (38)
Categories: Around the Nation, Around the Region
        

You just might be aware of President Obama's upcoming speech to students, which will be broadcast live this Tuesday.

A transcript of the president's remarks is supposed to be posted on the White House Web site tomorrow, for those who are curious.  I will post a link here once it's released.

On a side note, I understand several Harford residents - in addition to the parent mentioned in my story - plan to picket the Board of Ed in Bel Air during the speech, to protest its decision not to show the address in schools.  Harford seems to be the only Baltimore-area school system to have gone this route.  Most others are leaving it up to individual schools and teachers to decide whether they want to watch it.

Posted by Arin Gencer at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (44)
Categories: Around the Nation, Around the Region, Parents
        

Debate is swirling about President Obama's planned speech Tuesday to schoolchildren, urging them to take responsibility for their own education. Some school districts, such as Harford County, will not be broadcasting the president's speech, while others are allowing each school to decide. Parents also have the option of having their children excused from the speech. So what do you think?

Posted by Jennifer Badie at 4:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (120)
Categories: Around the Region
        

The confrontation between the Baltimore Teachers Union and the KIPP middle school in Baltimore has gotten a lot of attention in the past several weeks as it did on this blog when I first wrote about it in The Sun.

This morning, CNN did a report on the issue, highlighting that KIPP laid off several teachers and shortened its school day in order to adhere to the union contract.  The CNN report followed others in the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal and other papers.

And today, David Miller, from the Maryland Charter School Network was asked to blog for the  National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. His post is here : http://www.publiccharters.org/node/1141. 

He says that the union shouldn't try to stifle the growth of the KIPP school.

Posted by Liz Bowie at 6:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (29)
Categories: Around the Region
        

The state released the results of the Maryland School Assessments for science this week and they improved only slightly over the past year.

The tests don't count for No Child Left Behind, and state officials believe that schools and teachers aren't stressing them much with students. Still they are some indicator of what students know.

Only 63.7 percent of fifth-graders passed the test and only 65.3 percent of eighth-graders passed.

This is only the second year the exams have been given and there was a 4 percentage point gain in eighth grade, but the scores were flat in fifth.

Still, the test results are about 20 percentage points below reading and math. State school board members seemed disappointed by the results, particularly since there is a new emphasis on math and science in a state trying to market itself to biotech research and businesses.

The state did release graphs comparing results in Maryland with other states. The tests are different, but Connecticut had a much higher pass rate than Maryland.

State schools Superintendent Nancy S. Grasmick said she thought that the enormous effort that has been made on reading and math in the past five years under NCLB has sucked attention away from subjects like science and history.

I would like to know what science teachers out there have to say about how seriously they and their students take the tests and whether they believe their subject is given a lot less attention than it should be given.

Posted by Liz Bowie at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)
Categories: Around the Region
        

Maryland's dropout rate took a big dip in the past year, but it is unclear whether the change is due to better data collection or a true drop. Only about 2.8 percent of students dropped out of high schools this past year. The big question that hasn't been answered yet is what effect the High School Assessments may have had on the graduation rate, and therefore, the dropout rate.

The figures reported yesterday at the state school board meeting don't include the seniors who didn't graduate because they failed to meet the HSA requirement. Right now they are in the same category as a student who doesn't get enough credits to move on to the next grade. So when they don't show up for school next week, then we will know more.

The bottom line is that we still don't have good data on what effect the HSAs may have had on kids in the Class of 2009, and the data aren't expected out for another month.

Posted by Liz Bowie at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Around the Region
        

There's an interesting Education Week article today on the ACT results, which indicate most students are not ready for college.  And while a higher percentage of Maryland students are deemed prepared, the number (30 percent) is still low.

You can see how Maryland students did on the exam, and also check out the state's college readiness report.

SAT scores are expected next week, so stay tuned.

Posted by Arin Gencer at 12:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Around the Nation, Around the Region, Testing
        

When schools open this year, school officials will have another worry: the swine flu. Health officials are predicting a larger than usual number of students will be out sick with either the seasonal flu or the swine flu, and they are asking schools to help vacinate the school-aged population. In a story that ran over the weekend, we talked about the possible need for schools and colleges to do mass vaccinations in hopes of stemming the spread of the virus in this susceptible population. We were wondering if parents want their children vaccinated at school and if they would be willing to be involved in helping in schools to get the job done? The health department believes the community and particularly parents will have to be part of a volunteer effort on the days the vaccine is offered. Parents could escort children from their classroom to the place at school where they will get the vaccinations, for instance. It is likely that schools will have to give the vaccine twice about two weeks apart for a student to get the full immunity.

Are parents and teachers nervous about the flu season ahead or do they feel there is no need to get alarmed now because the flu does not seem to be any worse than the seasonal flu?

Posted by Liz Bowie at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Around the Region
        

Members of the Maryland State Board of Education didn't speak the words "persistently dangerous" at the most recent meeting, but they quietly voted to give the designation to seven more Baltimore City schools. Of the seven, many are being closed. 

The schools to get the designation are Canton Middle, Garrison Middle, Hamilton Middle, Dunbar Middle, Samuel L. Banks High, Thurgood Marshall High, and Institute of Business and Entrepreneurship.

Last year, the board agreed that the designation uses criteria that are more stringent than most across the country. For several years, no schools were designated as persistently in many major urban areas in America that have larger school populations that Baltimore.

So this year, the board took action to fullfill its obligation under NCLB but is clearly trying to downplay the action.

The question remains whether the board will have to change its criteria if NCLB is not reworked in the next year or two.

Posted by Liz Bowie at 2:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)
Categories: Around the Region
        

In my reporting over the past week or two, I have been asking superintendents, principals, teachers and education advocates if they are aware of the tidal wave of change that might be coming in the next year. For the most part, they have only a vague notion of what is happening on the national level.

I predict that the words Common Core Standards (think national standards) will be the new common language in the education community in a year. NCLB may seem so 2004 in just a few months.

Continue reading "Watch out, here comes another wave of changes in education." »

Posted by Liz Bowie at 3:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)
Categories: Around the Region
        

Tonight, a group of elementary school students is going to ask the Montgomery County Council to do away with styrofoam lunch trays at their school cafeteria and bring back the hard plastic lunch trays. To make the switch, they are asking for money for their school to buy a dishwasher for the trays.

These 9- to 12-year-olds will hold a rally and then make statements during the comment period of the Montgomery County Board of Education meeting. The students, all at Piney Branch Elementary School, are part of a Young Activist Club. They have created a press release that includes the breakdown in costs to use the plastic trays versus the sytrofoam. They will argue that the school system is overestimating the cost of the washing machine. Here's what a girl named Heather DeMocker, a sixth-grader, wrote:

Continue reading "Saving the environment with plastic lunch trays" »

Posted by Liz Bowie at 6:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Around the Region
        

So many schools around the state have done so well on the Maryland School Assessments that it is difficult to really rank schools and say which are better. One third of all elementary schools now have more than 90 percent of their students who have passed the test. In some counties, a high percentage of their schools now are vying to see if they can get to 98 percent passing or 95 percent. In the city, 20 elementary schools have 90 percent of their students passing the test.

So what is the next bar to jump over? Perhaps it is time to sort by what percentage of students can place in the advanced category.

In interviews I am doing today for stories later this week, I hear people say that those top performing schools are now concentrating on providing the arts and music, as well as more creative approaches to helping every child develop his or her strengths.

Do principals and teachers think the MSA is becoming less relevant because it isn't that hard to pass? Is this a good thing?

Posted by Liz Bowie at 5:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (26)
Categories: Around the Region
        

My colleague, Mary Gail Hare, who has been covering the Towson Catholic High School closing saga, provides this update on the spaces that other schools have made available to the Towson Catholic students: Towson Catholic parents and students met with administrators from 15 area parochial schools in an effort to find placements for the fall. Our Lady of Mount Carmel High School in Essex has offered the entire senior class of 38 space in its classrooms. The TC students may be allowed to wear their own uniforms and may receive diplomas with both schools written on them. Tom Rose, OLMC coordinator of development, said the high school has room to add many more students and has spoken with several TC families. It is also looking at transportation opportunities for those who want to transfer. TC is about 12 miles from the Essex campus. The school's enrollment is 205 and as a co-ed school it is similar to TC in many aspects. Tuition is slightly higher at $9,818, but it will admit seniors at their TC tuition, which is $9,500 annually. "We would incorporate the TC seniors into our leadership group and the National Honor Society,” Rose said. “They can be involved in our athletic programs. We would honor the seniors’ academic scholarships.”

Archbishop Curley High School has agreed to take all the male students at the TC tuition of $9,500 annually.

The archdiocese has asked the schools who accept TC students to delay requests for tuition, until families have been reimbursed. A big question for parents facing the dilemma of where to send their child may be whether to stay in the Catholic schools. 

Continue reading "Should Towson Catholic High students stay in parochial schools?" »

Posted by Liz Bowie at 5:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (15)
Categories: Around the Region
        

The scores from this spring's tests are a few weeks late coming out this year. State officials said they want to release the list of those schools that have failed to meet the grade at the same time as they release scores.

So the state has held off until now, but they are expected to be released at the Maryland State Department of Education meeting on Tuesday. We will have all the scores online and in the paper next week. Scores would be expected to rise as they have in every school district since the test has been given.

Posted by Liz Bowie at 4:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (21)
Categories: Around the Region
        

In today's paper, I write about the debate over how to teach math. College professors are arguing that high schools aren't teaching what students need to know for college. Too many students now have to take remedial classes when they arrive. About half of the high school graduates in Maryland who go to state community or four year colleges need a remedial class in math.

Interestingly, students who are put into a high math track early have an enormous advantage because they can take Advanced Placement Calculus classes and place out of the introductory classes at schools like College Park. But if they are left out of that high level math education, students may be far less prepared. I wonder what math teachers have witnessed? What do you think of the current math standards?

Specifically, the Abell Foundation argues in a report that the Algebra I/Data Analysis test now required for graduation isn't really Algebra I. Students are spending time learning other material that wastes their time and keeps them from getting a solid grounding in Algebra I, the report argues. The state says the HSA was never intended to be anything but a minimum standard and that school systems could still teach standard Algebra I.

Should the standards be changed?

Posted by Liz Bowie at 6:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (27)
Categories: Around the Region
        

I'm working on a story looking at how private schools - and their families - are faring during these tough economic times.  I am on the lookout for parents - in the city and the suburbs - who've decided not to continue sending their kids to an independent school because of the cost, or who've had to pull together additional resources to send them back another year.

Please send me an email if you'd like to share your experience.  Thanks.

Posted by Arin Gencer at 1:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Around the Region
        

Today, about 100 students and parents gathered at Towson Catholic High School to protest the sudden announcement yesterday that the school is closing after 86 years.

The school had lost about 80 students over the summer and could no longer afford the loss of revenue. Today, on our Web site, parents and alums have been talking about what might have happened if they had known about the financial trouble. Some argue that the school might have been able to get enough donations to keep the school open another year.

I wonder why so many parents pulled their children out over the summer? Was it the downturn in the economy that made paying for a Catholic school education too much for some parents or did they have concerns about the school?

And if some of the exodus was caused by the economy, are there other private and parochial schools in the Baltimore losing students?

Towson Catholic is the latest in a series of Catholic school closings this year and the archdiocese said it must find a new plan to sustain the existing schools as enrollments drop and the cost of supporting those schools goes up. One of the options is to provide some state taxpayer support to the parochial schools. We wonder what readers think of the idea?

Posted by Liz Bowie at 5:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)
Categories: Around the Region
        

Baltimore schools chief Andres Alonso proudly presented a group of high-achieving students going off to the Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland, College Park at a board meeting recently.

It was an honor for the students, who are among a smaller-than-usual pool who had been accepted at those schools through special programs.

In recent years, Hopkins and College Park have attempted to boost the number of city public school students who were able to attend their institutions – among the most prestigious in the state – by getting rid of one of the most difficult barriers: money.

Continue reading "Baltimore schools and colleges " »

Posted by Liz Bowie at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)
Categories: Around the Region
        

The Maryland State Board of Education has decided to take on some of the role of vetting candidates for the city school board. In my story today, I detail the questions the board is now asking candidates who apply for the job. It seems they are trying to prevent a repeat of the Brian Morris problem. Morris, the former city school board chair, was found to have a long history of financial problems. 

One of the questions on the candidate questionaire asks if there is anything in the candidate's background that would be potentially embarrassing to the citizens of Baltimore if it came out. State school board president James DeGraffenreidt said the school board expects to "conduct more detailed inquiries concerning the qualifications and backgrounds" of the candidates. In other words, the state will be doing its own background checks.

Posted by Liz Bowie at 3:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Around the Region
        

Anyone who was a frequent visitor to state school board meetings over the past year knew that when Blair Ewing raised his hand to ask a question, it was time to perk up and listen because you knew he was likely to get straight to the heart of the issue. He was always a gentleman, polite and respectful, but he could also boil down all the education jargon to ask simple questions that exposed the core of a problem. He didn't mind putting the staff of the state department on the spot and more than once asked for more information or suggested a different course of action. Lately, he had taken a great interest in finding a way for students in Maryland to take an international test that would expose how well they compared to those in other countries. 

Ewing, who lived in Montgomery County and served on the school board there for many years, died today. He had been active on the state board through May. I asked the chair of the board for his thoughts. Here is what James DeGraffenreidt said: "Personally, I enjoyed the fact that he exhibited such a consistent, positive tone even when there were substantive disagreements over major policy issues. The fact that he always prepared well and listened to everyone's point of view made the state board more effective. We certainly will miss him and express our deepest sympathy to his family."

Posted by Liz Bowie at 3:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Around the Region
        

Thursday was the final day of the Honeywell Educators @ Space Academy program, which 33 middle school math and science teachers from the Baltimore area took part in in Huntsville, Ala. Here are the final reports from some of the teachers who have been blogging about their experiences this week.

From City College math teacher Luis Lima:

Thursday was the last day of Space Camp. For Team Destiny, it was an emotional roller coaster. We started with an update on the status of NASA’s Ares program (the next manned mission to the moon). We were all very excited because after the update we were going to complete out mission on the Endeavour. Emotions were also running high because we knew we were hours away from saying goodbye to the amazing group of people who made up Team Destiny. But that is another story.

Mission Endeavour was a complete success. We had the most anomalies (things that can go wrong during any mission) thrown at us. At one point in time we were hit by a tornado and had to evacuate mission control while two of our crew members were space walking in order to repair the tiles on the orbiter. As I described in my previous blog, this is a very realistic environment and it was interesting to see how we all worked together to complete the mission and also have some fun. Today’s simulation brought home to me a statement I heard during my five days here: that NASA trains the fear out of its astronauts. Not that we were in danger at any time. But the mission simulation is pretty realistic and I had insight.

I guess we were on the right path today, since we were visited by a star trooper. After the mission, we were on the war path to complete all of our other chores: creating memorabilia to share with the team and to present to our counselors. Leigh and Lindsey, the multi-talented pair of educators who were our camp leaders, made our experience even more memorable through their competent, effective and meaningful leadership. But I digress ...

So, this is after lunch and we are all in the auditorium to attend Story Musgrave’s lecture. It was one of the most memorable presentations I have attended so far. Story’s amazing life story is an inspiration. He is brilliant and funny and, at his age, is still going strong. You may be asking, Story, who? Story Musgrave is the astronaut who has flown six shuttle missions. He was also responsible for the design of the tools and repair procedures for the maintenance of the Hubble telescope. Check him out. He was more than accommodating with our picture requirements, he signed anything you could have asked him to, and was really nice to all of us. I am in awe of the brilliant simplicity and technical excellence of his design.

Our next adventure was to explore the Lunar Stations with a set of problem-solving activities related to living and working on the moon. There were lots of great and easy-to-use activities to help students cooperate in the solution of complex problems. Very cool.

Let me give you a quick tip. If you ever come here, take the time to go on the Space Shoot. Now, you want to face the Apollo 11 rocket.

Continue reading "The final day of Space Camp" »

Posted by Jennifer Badie at 1:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Around the Region
        

From Hereford Middle School math teacher Rachel Murphy, one of the 33 area teachers participating in the Honeywell Educators @ Space Academy program in Huntsville, Ala., this week:

Wow, where do I start? I will try my best to fill you in on all the amazing things we have been doing while at Space Camp. First let me say that I did not realize that Honeywell employees actually pay with their own money for our scholarships, so thank you to those employees who provided me with this experience. So far, this has been the greatest professional development that I have ever participated in. Saturday when we arrived, there were no scheduled activities planned, but a bus was provided to go to a local “mall” (I would compare it to the avenues at White Marsh and Hunt Valley back home). It was very upscale, and beautiful, and included a canal with gondola rides. I ate dinner with five others from Maryland and two other teachers, one from Delaware and one from Tampa. It was fun getting to know the other teachers in a laid-back and social setting.

Sunday morning we were up and running early in the morning (7:30). I met my teammates - Team Destiny. I’m not sure what the other bloggers have been saying, but I have to say that we are the best team! There are 18 of us, six from Maryland. Other states and countries represented include England, Canada, Delaware, Texas, Utah, Pennsylvania and California. We bonded quickly through a few team-building activities. Throughout the day we took a tour of the museum, learned the ins and outs of how NASA builds and launches their shuttle missions, as well as more about the Honeywell Corp. My favorite part of the day was building a bottle rocket. I have never seen a 2-liter bottle of soda go that high before! We ended the “scheduled” activities around 8 p.m., but hung out with each other for a few more hours before we called it a night. They were not kidding when they said they send us home tired! 

Monday, again we were up bright and early. We completed our first shuttle mission. I was an EVA on the International Space Station and got to build a tower “in space.” That was awesome! Once I return, you will be able to see some pics and video of my mission. In addition to our first mission, we participated in another rocket-building event (they were launched today - super cool!), and listened to a presentation from Ed Buckbee, who was selected by rocket scientist Wernher von Braun to start the U.S. Space and Rocket Center Museum and started space camps. He had many fun and inside stories to tell about the “good old days” of NASA.

Continue reading "Math teacher's Space Camp report" »

Posted by Jennifer Badie at 6:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Around the Region
        

From City College math teacher Luis Lima, one of the 33 area teachers participating in the Honeywell Educators @ Space Academy program in Huntsville, Ala., this week:

I can’t tell you how much fun this has been. Just to give you a short run, I played with toys in space, landed an egg on Mars, launched an engine rocket, helped air traffic control teach math, trained for a space shuttle mission to the International Space Station, walked on the moon, and spun around out of control.

My team, Team Destiny, is awesome! There are educators from all over the U.S., and Canada, the Philippines and, yours truly, Brazil. We had a full day of activities, beginning with the Toys in Space Workshop. Not only were there lots of neat ideas on how to use regular toys to represent laws of physics and gravity, but we also got to make our own. It’s super interesting to watch Team Destiny work together to complete the assignments, document the whole experience and have fun.

After a quick break, we all went to Mars - or had a quick fly by some interesting activities and projects we can use. I learned a lot about Mars and again worked in a small group to design and build a spacecraft to safely land a chicken egg on the Red Planet. To land an egg traveling at about 250 mph whole  was a lot of work. I believe all the eggs used during this project landed safely. It was not the landing of the eagle, but the next best thing.

Engine Rocket Launch followed our lunch break. Fifteen model rockets flew off into the summer skies of Alabama, where the weather is a lot like my hometown of Rio de Janeiro than I thought possible. My engine did not fly - lots of smoke but no take-off! I was told it happens. I was happy to see that the parachute assembly worked as designed, but the whole thing remained attached to the launching pad. It was a little frustrating until I remembered that at least the engine was not devoured by the rocket-eating trees around the launching field. I watched 15 successful launches. And I had a few ideas on how to use rockets in my math classes this fall. 

Another workshop today was on how to use aeronautics to teach math ... airplanes and flights. It must have been my lucky day: how to use the math behind air travel and some cool Web sites to bring it all together. It was quite cool to me.

Continue reading "Another Space Camp Dispatch" »

Posted by Arin Gencer at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Around the Region
        

While the state Board of Education is still mulling over possible changes to the vetting process for city school board candidates, several other things came out of their meeting yesterday.

The board approved the restructuring plan for Baltimore's Moravia Park Elementary/Middle School, which will require all school employees to reapply for their jobs.  All the staff positions at Moravia have been posted and interviews and selections are already taking place, city schools CEO Andres Alonso said.

Alonso told members that he was happy to be there "for only one school,” noting six schools were brought before them the previous year, and more the year before that. Alonso said he saw that as a sign of the progress that's been made.

For those who've been asking about the MSAs: State schools Superintendent Nancy Grasmick said during yesterday's meeting that the results have been sent to each district, and the appeals process has begun, as adequate yearly progress is being determined. Grasmick said the results should be reported at the board's meeting in July.

And finally, the "voluntary state curriculum" may officially become "voluntary" no more: Grasmick said the board will be asked to remove the word from all references to the VSC.

Posted by Arin Gencer at 9:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Around the Region, Baltimore City, NCLB
        

 

Dave Wickersham, Honeywell's director of environmental projects, talks about the company's sponsorship of the Educators @ Space Academy program, which 33 Baltimore-area middle school math and science teachers are attending this week at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Ala.

Posted by Jennifer Badie at 11:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Around the Region
        

In my story today, I take a look at dropouts – and, more specifically, dropout prevention and intervention – the focus of a day-long summit at Randallstown High School yesterday.  Hundreds of state educators, believed to represent all 24 school systems, attended the event, said to be a first for Maryland.  It was sponsored by America’s Promise Alliance, an organization tied to former Secretary of State Colin Powell and his wife and current chair, Alma.

One of the noteworthy moments during the summit involved a theatrical performance put on by a troupe from Garrett County, who portrayed seven characters – six students and a parent – explaining why they chose to drop out.  The writer of the play, called The Goodbye Kids, explained to the audience that the concept emerged from more than 20 interviews she did with dropouts.  The characters were composites of what she gleaned from those talks, she said.

The characters, all students at “Run of the Mill High School,” ranged from a boy who bellowed about how much his teachers bored him to a girl whose family never set a high priority on finishing school to a poor student who was sick of being mocked for his appearance – and stench.  Other highlights included a student who’d always gotten by – until that one teacher noticed his inability to read – and the mother of another who had been regularly mocked for being gay.

Interestingly, the profiles foreshadowed a later presentation from Robert Balfanz, director of the Everyone Graduates Center at the Johns Hopkins University. 

Continue reading "Tackling school dropouts" »

Posted by Arin Gencer at 9:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Around the Nation, Around the Region, Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Howard County, NCLB
        

This week, 33 middle school math and science teachers from the Baltimore area are in Huntsville, Ala., to participate in the Honeywell Educators @ Space Academy program. They will be blogging about their experiences all week. Here are the reports from two teachers about their first day.

From Sabourah Abdunafi of ConneXions Community Leadership Academy in Baltimore:

The first day of camp was filled with excitement. We started with a wonderful breakfast. I met so many people from Maryland. That was one of the best feelings in the world: We always hear people speak of Maryland’s educational system being so low and we have over 30 teachers here. Every activity we had, the leaders would ask where you are from, and someone would say Maryland. I could hear a few people saying — here we go, or another one? We are really representing here!

The team-building activity was my favorite part of the day. This is something that we do in advisory at my school and it really works. We got into a circle and went around, saying our name, I’m going to space camp, and I’m bringing some item or person. Then each person would repeat until we got to the end of the circle saying each name and what they are bringing. At the end of the activity, I knew everyone’s name. At no time during the day did I have to say  what’s your name?

Then we did a second activity that I’ve also done with my advisory, where everyone is in a circle and each person grabs the hands of a person across the circle to make a human knot. We were doing well with this from the beginning. Everyone communicated and we were getting loose. Then a group member, Luis, had to let go because he was afraid he would throw out his back. I was worried about him because it happened to me once before. Another group member recommended that we start over and try again — and we did. It was nice to see that Luis didn’t want to quit. The second time I was stuck, tangled, under the group and Luis threw his back out. A few people let go and the remainder of the group continued. The activity was all about communication and teamwork and my group, DESTINY, is all about both.

Continue reading "Teachers' first day at Space Camp" »

Posted by Jennifer Badie at 10:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Around the Region
        

During the week of June 22, InsideEd will feature reports for some very special correspondents.  Thirty-three elementary and middle school math and science teachers from the Baltimore area will be in Huntsville, Al. to participate in the Honeywell Educators @ Space Academy program.

These teachers applied for and were awarded scholarships for this week-long program, during which they'll take part in astronaut-style training and simulations, and work together on educational activities.  They will carry back what they learn from these experiences to their classrooms to help students gain a better appreciation for math and science.

Throughout their week at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center, 8 of these educators will serve as "teacher/reporters" for InsideEd, sending us daily updates about what they're doing and what they're learning. 

Some of the teacher/reporters are also shooting video and taking photographs during the week.  After they get back, we'll collect these visuals and edit them into a presentation about the Space Academy that will be published on baltimoresun.com before the next school year begins.  That presentation will also include more information about the Honeywell Educators @ Space Academy program that these teachers and others can use in the classroom. 

Our teacher/reporters for the week will be:

Sabourah Abdunafi of ConneXions Community Leadership Academy

Susan Allen of Urbana Middle School

Sarah Clark of Franklin Middle School

Mary Horner of Notre Dame Preparatory School

Luis Lima of Baltimore City College

Rachel Murphy of Hereford Middle School

Adren Thompson of Rising Stars Academy

Amy Wood of the Maryland Science Center

Posted by Arin Gencer at 12:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Around the Region, Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Teaching
        

In my story today, I wrote about efforts to increase the number of males in schools.

For whatever reason, males have been noticeably absent from the school setting. Recently there have been initiatives to reverse that. The program that I found at one Howard County elementary school encourages fathers at the school to spend the day helping out teachers, and serving as an addition set of adult eyes in the hallways.

What do you think about increasing the number of males in the school? Is it necessary? What other creative ways might work to accomplish this?

Posted by John-John Williams IV at 4:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Around the Nation, Around the Region, Howard County, Parents, Trends
        

In today's story on the vetting of candidates for the city school board we talk about what process has been used in the past and what is happening today to choose the next school board member.

I wonder what readers think about who should be responsible for the vetting of candidates. The state board chair says the state board is just beginning the process. Should the state board decide to advertise? Who should be out there trying to convince Baltjmore citizens to apply for the school board, for an unpaid job that can consume many hours a week and doesn't get the person a lot of thanks from the public?

Posted by Liz Bowie at 9:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (17)
Categories: Around the Region
        

Education Week has put out its annual ranking of school system graduation rates today and the news is both good and bad for school systems around the region.  Of the top 50 largest school districts throughout the country, Baltimore City is the sixth from the bottom with a graduation rate of 44.6 percent in 2006. Baltimore County, which has a graduation rate of 78.6 percent, is ranked fifth and Anne Arundel is eighth with a rate of 70.2 percent.

This might be rather depressing news for the city except for the fact that the way in which Education Week has calculated its rate is believed to be somewhat flawed, even by its own admission.

Ed Week does its best using the only data available for school systems across the nation, but it cannot actually track students. Rather, the graduation rate is an estimate based on the numbers of students who are in each grade that year in the district. So the rate does not take into account the students who graduate in five years nor does it try to compensate for what is known as the ninth-grade bulge. Many ninth-graders in the city don't pass all their classes and spend an extra half-year classified as a ninth-grader although they technically have nearly enough credits to be a 10th-grader.

In other words, the ninth grade looks larger than it really is and the number who eventually graduate is smaller than it should be.

So the Education Week researchers acknowledge that there may be a 14-point discrepancy in the true graduation rate and what they report.

In fact, the city schools say they graduated 62.6 percent of students.

We won't really have a true accounting of graduation rates for several years until a process is fully in place to track students.

But if Baltimore County's rate is actually as shown, that is good news for county residents. And Montgomery County tied for first place in the rankings.

The state as a whole had a graduation rate of about 73 percent, only slightly above the national average. 

Posted by Liz Bowie at 12:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Around the Region
        

With the last day of school in Baltimore City and Baltimore County rapidly approaching, we’re looking for some interesting stories to tell about students as they look to the summer. Do you know of any kids who have a great summer planned and are just itching for school to be over – maybe a student who’s going to space camp, or Europe with their parents? Or maybe a child who’s taking the class pet home for the summer? Or a middle-schooler who is nervous about going to high school next year? If you know of any students whom we could profile, please send an e-mail to jennifer.badie@baltsun.com or liz.bowie@baltsun.com by Wednesday or post a comment on the blog.

UPDATE: Thanks to all the teachers, principals and parents who helped us find subjects to profile on the last day of school in Baltimore City and Baltimore County last week. You can read the profiles here.

Posted by Jennifer Badie at 11:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)
Categories: Around the Region
        

The Sun has undergone a lot of change in the past month, including a reduction in staff and shifting of reporters covering certain beats. That change has forced us to think about how we might best serve our readers and keep the blog as vibrant as ever.

First, we would like to give some of our readers the opportunity to write a guest post once a week. We are happy to have some help.

We would like to have a range of people involved in education write for the blog: from teachers, principals, parents, nonprofit advocates, administrators, school board members to anyone else who has an opinion. We would also like to see some geographic diversity. So if you are in Baltimore County or Talbot County, we want you to feel like you're part of the conversation on education we are trying promote here.

And here is a special plea to students, who I often find are the best informed of all. We would like to make your voices heard as well. So please think about writing for the blog. I know there are many smart, thoughtful students who have some good ideas about their education. Let us hear from you.

We will start by posting a guest item once a week and see how it goes. If you are interested in writing a piece, please send an e-mail with the topic to liz.bowie@baltsun.com; arin.gencer@baltsun.com or our new education editor, Jennifer Badie. Her e-mail is jennifer.badie@baltsun.com

We'd like to discuss the post with you before you write it. We will give you a deadline and then publish the post a couple days later.

And second, our new higher education reporter, Childs Walker, will soon begin posting on the blog as well. So the blog will try to extend its range into the world of colleges and universities around the state.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Posted by Liz Bowie at 1:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Around the Region
        

My story today takes a look at the debate about teacher retention in Baltimore County – and whether it is, in fact, a problem.

The subject caught my attention during the last county board meeting, when school officials presented a preliminary analysis of the TELL Maryland survey, the anonymous state questionnaire that teachers and other certified, school-based employees were invited to take earlier this year.

Both Tom Rhoades, the district’s executive director for research, accountability and assessment, and the superintendent emphasized that the survey’s results clearly show that teachers are staying in the county – and are happy to be working there, contrary to claims that they are fleeing to other districts for higher pay and better support.  It was clear those comments were aimed at Cheryl Bost, the president of TABCO, who has often said compensation is a factor in losing teachers.

For those interested in a bit of reading, here are the state reports on the teacher shortage and staffing, which Bost cites as evidence of a retention problem.

The discussion will probably continue next week, as a presentation on staffing trends is expected at the school board’s meeting.  And I suspect Bost may have a thing or two to say when she gets a chance to speak during that session.

But back to the TELL survey…for those who did take it, what did you think?  Will the governor’s goal of hearing directly from you result in actual changes in your schools?

Posted by Arin Gencer at 11:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (13)
Categories: Around the Region, Baltimore County
        

The state released its almost final numbers yesterday on the number of students who won't meet the high school assessment requirement and will fail to graduate. I have a story in today's paper. There are lots more kids who have been lost along the way during the process of moving from ninth to 12th grade, but these are the students held back by just the HSAs.

The news was remarkably good in the eyes of Nancy Grasmick and the state board members, some of whom breathed a sigh of relief. Mary Kay Finan, a board member, said, "The impact of the HSAs was not as detrimental as we thought it would be." Back in the fall, she said, it looked as though there were going to be 9,000 to 10,000 who weren't going to graduate.

What still hasn't been revealed is the number of students who may have been overwhelmed by the process of passing the tests or doing the projects. Caught in a school that wasn't giving them encouragement or support, they may simply have decided not to come back over last summer.

Or maybe they just dropped out during this school year. And we also don't know whether the dropout rate will rise.

I wonder if any of our regular readers know of students who haven't made it? How do they feel?

On the other hand, I would like to hear from teachers and principals about what they see as the next step in the process of making high school better for students.

Posted by Liz Bowie at 6:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Around the Region
        

In Monday's paper, I wrote about Teach for America's plans to expand in Baltimore next school year.  What is interesting to me, but didn't make it into the story, is the fact that Maryland has been unable to choose some very highly qualified candidates from top schools in the nation because of its certification requirements. To be certified you have to have six college credits in a range of subjects. So you may have graduated in the top of your class at Harvard, but you won't be able to teach in Baltimore because you didn't take enough math classes.

The state and Teach for America are trying to negotiate a solution to this problem. They may agree to drop the distribution requirements in lieu of a high GPA. We will see.

In the meantime, plenty of applicants have stepped forward to find places in the city schools.

Andres Alonso likes TFA because it provides a lot of bang for the buck. He sees many future leaders in the system coming out of TFA.

What do you all think about the Teach for America expansion?

Posted by Liz Bowie at 11:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (58)
Categories: Around the Region, Baltimore City
        

My story today takes a look at a bullying policy coming before the Baltimore County school board Tuesday.

But really, this could have been about any school board in Maryland, considering the state law that requires every district to develop and adopt such a policy.  School officials in the city, Howard, Harford, Anne Arundel and Carroll counties are in the midst of this process, which must be completed by July 1 (and submitted to the state superintendent).

In talking to some of my sources, I was struck by the fact that most everyone already has a policy like this - even if it's not in the exact words or format recommended by the state.  In fact, the state Department of Education worked with local districts in creating its model policy. 

A uniform stance on an issue can certainly be a good thing - particularly when it comes to the persistent, even timeless, problem of bullying.  But I did wonder what people on the ground think about this.  Will it make a difference in how educators handle harassment or intimidation among their students?

Posted by Arin Gencer at 11:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Anne Arundel, Around the Region, Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Howard County, School Safety (Or Lack Thereof)
        

Liz had a heck of a time getting the state to release data last week on how many seniors still have not met the HSA requirements, with graduation just a few weeks away. As she reported Friday, the number who have not passed is shrinking every day as projects keep rolling in. Fewer than 1,150 students were coming up short in Baltimore City plus Anne Arundel, Howard, Carroll, Harford and Montgomery counties combined, down from 2,040 in late March. Baltimore County and Prince George's County (which had more students at risk for not graduating than any other district) did not release updated figures. But Baltimore County officials said they expect the number who won't graduate to be less than 4 percent of the senior class, or about 300 students.

In the city, officials estimate that more than 90 percent of seniors will have met the HSA requirements by graduation. Diplomas would be denied to about 400 seniors.

Posted by Sara Neufeld at 11:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)
Categories: Around the Region, Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Testing
        

At a session I'm attending this morning on why kids leave, John Bridgeland of Civic Enterprises said the No. 1 cause is boredom. There's a disconnect between what they're learning in the classroom and what they want to do or what they see is relevant in their lives. Bridgeland, whose organization has studied the issue extensively, said most dropouts were spending an hour or less a night on homework and wanted to be challenged more. About a third of dropouts leave because of personal conflicts such as needing to hold a job, he said, so flexible scheduling would also help.

I'll also be posting this entry on the EWA conference blog.

Posted by Sara Neufeld at 10:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (46)
Categories: Around the Region
        

A letter from Milford Mill Academy Principal Nathaniel Gibson has been posted on the southwest Baltimore County school’s Web site, with some details about the one student who appears to have swine flu.

The Anne Arundel student attends Folger McKinsey Elementary School in Severna Park.

Check out the story so far.

Posted by Arin Gencer at 5:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Around the Region, Baltimore County, School Safety (Or Lack Thereof)
        

I wonder what the children at Samuel F.B. Morse Elementary saw on their way into school this morning; a dead body was found across the street at 7 a.m... Teach Baltimore (formerly Epiphany In Baltimore) blogs about the ambivalence of students on his baseball team when they discover that a guy is hiding heroin under the grass in the playground where they practice... Now, in addition to street violence and the drug trade, we have to worry about cyberbullying. The Anti-Defamation League, in partnership with Frederick County schools and the Maryland State Department of Education, is holding the Mid-Atlantic's first cyberbullying conference in Frederick tomorrow. Closer to home, the International Institute for Restorative Practices will hold a daylong training in Baltimore on the technique it says reduces school violence. Isn't it a shame you have to be in school? Also tomorrow, NAEP scores for the nation (not broken down by state) will be released. Tomorrow night, the Baltimore school board casts its much-awaited votes on school closures and reorganizations. And that's not all that's on the agenda. The board will hear reports on the state of charter schools and summer school and get a recommendation to change its high school promotion policy, dropping the requirement of certain courses in particular grades. More to come on all these topics... Looking ahead: I'll spend Thursday to Saturday this week at the Education Writers Association conference in Washington. Saturday evening, Frederick Douglass students and alums will put on a concert to honor the late Anne Brown.

Posted by Sara Neufeld at 7:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Around the Region, Baltimore City, School Safety (Or Lack Thereof), Testing
        

The state school board hasn't made any commitments yet, but it took another step today toward giving a sampling of students in Maryland an international test next fall to judge how well-prepared our students are compared with those around the world.

Nancy Grasmick told the board she is having a conversation with representatives of The Programme for International Student Assessment, known as PISA, to see if it's feasible to give the test to a large enough sample of students in the state to get results that could be compared with a country overseas.

PISA was last given in 2006 in 57 countries. The board told Grasmick to continue looking into the possibility. 

Posted by Liz Bowie at 7:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Around the Region, Testing
        

I filled in for my colleague on the higher ed beat yesterday and covered the STEM symposium at University of Maryland. Chancellor William Kirwan presented some staggering statistics about Maryland's preparation (or lack thereof) of math, science and technology teachers: The state's public schools need 500 a year, yet its colleges and universities are only producing 175, resulting in unqualified teachers filling gaps, often in the poorest schools. At least Kirwan is recognizing the problem and pledging to do something about it, hence the symposium.

It was my first time seeing Arne Duncan live. He didn't say too much that I haven't read about him saying before, but for the sake of putting it on the record here on InsideEd: He wants a longer school day, week and year. He wants to keep the data disaggregation that NCLB requires but stop letting each state develop its own standardized tests. In other words, he wants to standardize the goal but provide more flexibility in how to get there. He kind of reminded me of Dr. Alonso when he said he wants to give states autonomy to reach a uniform goal and hold them accountable for the results. He also said he wants to be judged on the country improving its high school graduation rate and getting more students through college.

Nancy Grasmick was at the symposium. She said Duncan will be bringing states together to develop uniform assessments, and Maryland will be a part of the process. Both Grasmick and Kirwan were very impressed with a program out of the University of Texas called UTeach to recruit math, science and computer teachers and would like to bring some version of it to Maryland.

UPDATE: Alonso e-mailed this Wall Street Journal op-ed by Duncan to city teachers this week.

Posted by Sara Neufeld at 6:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: Around the Region, NCLB, Teaching, Testing
        

Does having computer access at home make a difference for students? Many educators think so.

In my story today on the technology gap, I wrote about efforts to equip students with computers at home. It's an expensive undertaking. Many school systems struggle to provide computers in the classroom, let alone at home. That's where programs like Computers For Students enter the picture. The Howard County-based program will provide 100 Howard County students with home computers this school year. Parents, students, and educators alike praise programs like this agree that it helps with student achievement.

Great strides have been made when it comes to providing computer access to students in school. In 1996, the state's student-computer ratio was 16-to-1. Last year, the ratio closed to 3.4-to-1.

Around the state the number of students with computer access in the home varies greatly. At 88 percent, Howard County leads the state, and Baltimore City is the lowest at 43 percent.

What do you think? Is it the school system's responsibility to provide students with computers in the home? Or is it a luxury item that parents should be expected to purchase on their own? And is it necessary for students to have computers at home in order to be successful in the classroom? 

Posted by John-John Williams IV at 3:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)
Categories: Around the Region
        

In today's paper, I write about the saga of a group of talented, ambitious kids at Pikesville High School trying to get into the nation's best colleges. Educators give struggling students a lot of attention and so do newspapers, but I wanted to take a look at the students who are our best and brightest.

In some inner-city schools, we aren't expecting much from students. They graduate barely able to meet minimal standards. Just a few miles away, students are expected to be nearly perfect. It is quite a contrast.

Besides the story, there's a lot of additional material here on the Web site, including a video, a sample SAT quiz and information on getting into the nation's top colleges. Five of the Pikesville seniors write about their experiences here. Please use this blog to comment on what they had to say. I would like to start a conversation among other teenagers and the Pikesville students about the travails of the college admissions process. Parents and teachers, too.   

Posted by Liz Bowie at 6:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (26)
Categories: Around the Region
        

There’s an interesting op-ed in today’s paper praising Maryland for its Farm-to-School program. The program aims to put fresh, local food in school cafeterias and to teach kids more about where that food comes from. The op-ed considers the concept a win for everyone – students, farmers, local communities and the environment.

This focus on healthy eating is another facet of an ongoing conversation on childhood obesity and ensuring students are eating well during the school day. Even as they turn healthier, schools throughout the nation are simultaneously trying not to loose their young clientele by sacrificing taste. My colleague John-John Williams recently wrote about such efforts in a story about a Howard County contest allowing students to propose recipes for the cafeteria menu.

Posted by Arin Gencer at 12:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Around the Nation, Around the Region, Howard County
        

School officials in Baltimore and all over Maryland seem to think that the High School Assessments won't prevent many if any seniors from getting a diploma this year. Yes, there will be seniors who don't graduate, but that's the case every year. And those who don't graduate are those who would be held back anyway -- for failing classes, not showing up, not completing service learning hours, etc. Special education students and English learners who have done everything they're supposed to do can apply for HSA waivers.

So how to verify this claim?

Continue reading "Will HSAs hold students back?" »

Posted by Sara Neufeld at 7:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Around the Region, Baltimore City, Testing
        

Two new studies I bring to your attention:

1) Just out from the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future. It predicts that more than half the current teachers in American schools will retire in the next decade. The largest teacher retirement wave in history is upon us, it says, with the peak predicted for 2010-2011. Charts with state demographics show Maryland's "upper quartile" for age starting at 53 (thanks to MSTA for correcting my earlier misreading).

2) Western and the Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women can find common ground in a report out of UCLA that found graduates of all-girls schools are more academically inclined, more politically engaged and more likely to pursue a career in engineering than their peers at co-ed schools. Western and BLSYW joined with private girls schools in the area to put out a press release on the study. Worth noting, though, that the report was funded by the National Coalition of Girls' Schools.

Posted by Sara Neufeld at 7:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)
Categories: Around the Region, Baltimore City, Study, study!
        

I'm still trying to get a handle on the specifics, and negotiations in the House/Senate conference committee are still ongoing, but lawmakers in Annapolis are backing down from the most severe cuts the Senate proposed for education. It sounds like they're getting the message that the federal government will withhold the second year of stimulus money from states that slash education spending and try to use the stimulus dollars to make up the difference.

UPDATE: I've learned -- and apparently the legislators in Annapolis have, too -- that the stimulus contains language prohibiting cuts to state education funding formulas after October 2008 if schools are to receive the federal dollars. However, the conference committee is planning to limit inflation increases to 1 percent the year the stimulus runs out, in fiscal 2012, which would prompt cuts at that time.

Posted by Sara Neufeld at 12:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Around the Region, Baltimore City
        

The number of Maryland schools that have not met federal standards and had to restructure has increased rapidly in the past year, according to a report by the Center on Education Policy. Twenty-nine more schools were added to the list, bringing the total number of schools in restructuring to 85 this academic year.   

For the past five years, CEP has kept close track of how states are implementing No Child Left Behind. The report said that while Maryland's increase in schools in restructuring is notable, it is not unexpected because it has been five years since NCLB was initiated. So a school that wasn't meeting the standards has just that long before regulations say something radical has to be done to improve it.

A Maryland official, Ann Chafin, described this as a "bubble moving moving along" when interviewed by the authors of the report. Even so, the discouraging news is that we aren't finding many schools in this category that have improved a lot over the last few years.

CEP said only 13 schools have managed to improve enough to get out of restructuring. What is the most popular way to restructure a school? CEP says most schools are replacing all or most of the staff.

We will see if it works.

Posted by Liz Bowie at 12:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Around the Region
        

The Senate has approved the education funding cuts in its budget. It now goes to a conference committee to hammer out differences with the House version, which does not include the most harmful provisions for education. Here is a mass e-mail that Dr. Alonso and Brian Morris just sent out about the potential impact on the city schools.

Arne Duncan has said he will "come down like a ton of bricks" and withhold the second year of stimulus money from states that cut aid to schools with the idea that they can replace it with stimulus dollars. But that appears to be what's happening here in Maryland.

Posted by Sara Neufeld at 11:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Around the Region
        

The state Senate today approved cutting the geographic cost of education index -- or GCEI, the component of Thornton that gives more money to school districts where the cost of educating students is higher. The governor's proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year, as well as the version of the budget passed by the House of Delegates, funds GCEI at 100 percent. The Senate's version funds it at only 60 percent, with the remaining 40 percent going to plug a hole in school construction funding. For Baltimore, it would mean an $8.7 million loss. Montgomery, Prince George's, Anne Arundel and Baltimore counties would also take significant hits.

The Senate is now debating further cuts to education for fiscal years 2011 and 2012 by continuing the cap on inflation that was supposed to lift next year and reducing something known as the "supplemental grant." These cuts would leave the city schools with annual shortfalls of at least $50 million for each of those years. Since the central office has already been slashed for this academic year and next, schools would see the impact directly. Why is it necessary to cut for future years now? Could it be that legislators want to avoid cutting schools next year, in an election year, so they're doing it now as a pre-emptive move?

It's worth noting again that these changes, as well as the GCEI funding reduction, were introduced late Friday night by the Senate's budget and tax committee when no one was watching. The two senators from Baltimore on the budget and tax committee, Nathaniel McFadden (chair of the city delegation and a school system employee) and Verna Jones, voted for the proposal. The reason no one was watching was because it was assumed that the committee would adopt its subcommittee's recommendations on education, but it did not.

Once the Senate's vote is complete, the budget will go to a conference committee with the House.

I just spoke with Dr. Alonso about the Senate's GCEI cut. "These are dollars that were intended to be used in recognition of the difficulty of certain districts in serving the children," he said. "It's part of Thornton, and it's wrong to take away from certain districts... It's wrong to take away from needy children."

Alonso said an $8.7 million loss would limit his plans to expand vocational education and reduce the scope of planned expansion of pre-kindergarten. "In a district where so many things need to be done, that is a tragedy and a missed opportunity," he said.

While legislators are saying that schools will make up the funding loss with stimulus money, the stimulus dollars come with strings attached. Alonso said he talked with U.S. education secretary Arne Duncan and "the stimulus dollars are meant to be used to change the character of education in this country. They're not meant to absolve local governments of their responsibility to adequately fund education." In addition, the biggest cut under the Senate proposal would come in fiscal year 2012, the year the stimulus money runs out.

Posted by Sara Neufeld at 6:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)
Categories: Around the Region
        

There's a lively debate going on today on the Maryland Politics blog about legislation likely to be adopted by the General Assembly that would allow speed cameras around Maryland schools. The legislation would permit cameras to be installed within a half-mile of any school (or highway work zone with a speed limit of 45 mph or higher), and anyone going 12 mph over the speed limit or more would be fined $40. The vehicle's registered owner would get the citation in the mail.

Most of the commenters on the politics blog oppose the idea, but I wonder if some of you here might feel differently, if you've seen firsthand the perils of speeding drivers in school zones -- and understanding the need to raise more local revenue. (The money from the fines wouldn't go directly to schools, though.)

UPDATE: In a surprise reversal, the Senate rejected the speed camera bill.

UPDATE, 4/2: The bill was brought back to life.

Posted by Sara Neufeld at 3:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: Around the Region
        

Arne Duncan is to appear at Doswell E. Brooks Elementary School in Prince George's County this morning to announce how states and school districts can begin receiving the first installment of federal stimulus money. Gov. O'Malley and Nancy Grasmick are scheduled to be there, too.

A press release from the governor's office points out that in Prince George's County, administrators plan to use stimulus money "to avoid employee furloughs, layoffs, increases in class sizes and other education program cuts." That is true. But it's also true that such cuts could happen anyway in Prince George's if the state operating budget proposed by the Senate's budget and tax committee and now before the full chamber were to be adopted. I'm told P.G. stands to lose about $22 million next year. The ACLU of Maryland, which is tracking this carefully, said yesterday that the city could take an $18 million hit; yesterday I reported it would be at least $12 million. The House version of the bill contains some of the cuts, but not the biggest ones: a reduction in GCEI funding from 100 percent to 60 percent next year, and a continued cap on inflation increases for school districts in fiscal years 2011 and 2012.

Like the last time education cuts were proposed (only to be rescinded because of the stimulus), it seems the state's two neediest jurisdictions would suffer a disproportionate share of the pain. Montgomery County would take a big hit, too.

Posted by Sara Neufeld at 6:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Around the Nation, Around the Region
        

Maryland just got a $6.5 million federal grant to build a new longitudinal database. That might sound dull, but it will have major implications for the state's school kids.

First, it will give the state the ability to track the progress of individual students or groups of students over time. Anyone who has followed the state board closely knows that the only way to get exact data on how many students had yet to pass the HSAs was to call more than 200 schools one by one.

Right now, the state gets virtually all its data from its 24 school districts, which don't always use the same methods to keep it. There is no way to track students moving from one jurisdiction to another. But the new system will allow the state to do that. In turn, the data will help Maryland keep better track of the graduation and dropout rates.

The system might make it possible to link student progress over a number of years to the work of individual teachers.

In a press release put out today, Nancy Grasmick said the tracking system "will better illuminate what works in our schools." But most important, perhaps, is that Maryland needs to be working on such a data system to make the state competitive for a number of stimulus grants.

It will be finished by 2014.

Posted by Liz Bowie at 3:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Around the Region
        

Once again, Maryland schools are facing budget cuts. And once again, Baltimore would be hurt disproportionately. If proposals pending in the General Assembly are approved, the city would have to cut at least $12 million out of the budget the school board approved last week.

Late Friday night, the state Senate's budget and tax committee surprised everyone in the education world. Rather than adopting its subcommittee's recommendations for school funding as expected, it passed a modified version including deeper cuts. It would fund GCEI at 60 percent next year, rather than the 100 percent pledged by the governor, and use the remaining 40 percent (or about $50 million) to cover planned school construction costs. That alone would require the city to cut $8.8 million -- meaning more job cuts at North Avenue or cuts to schools.

Then, the Senate budget committee would limit in fiscal years 2011 and 2012 the annual inflation increases to school districts that were supposed to return next year. It was the capping of these inflation increases that led to the $50 million-plus shortfalls in the city schools for each of the past two years. Continuing the cap would lead to huge shortfalls again the next two years. It would save the state an estimated $95 million in fiscal year 2011.

I asked Gov. O'Malley about the committee's vote today at Frederick Douglass High School, where he and several other public officials were on hand for the opening of a computer lab sponsored by Verizon. He said he hadn't seen the specifics yet, but he was concerned about any change to GCEI. However, he said several lawmakers don't believe that the state should be guaranteeing inflation increases to any agencies -- school districts included -- until the economy improves. He's inclined to agree. He didn't think schools would be hurt over the next two years because of the stimulus money -- but, as I've noted before, the stimulus dollars come with strings attached, while the money an inflation increase would bring would go into the general fund.

The committee's version of the budget, which now goes to the full Senate for a vote and is likely to pass, also includes a provision from the House of Delegates' bill that would change the formula governing who pays for private school placement for special education students. The state now pays 80 percent of the cost and districts pay 20 percent. The House changed the ratio to 70-30, which would cost the city $3 million next year. The Senate committee and the House would also require 17 districts -- Baltimore not among them -- that received overpayment this year through a budget error to repay the money, contrary to a promise from the governor that they wouldn't have to.

Once the full Sentate approves its budget bill, the House and Senate versions will go to a conference committee.

Posted by Sara Neufeld at 6:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: Around the Region
        

Check out this chart for the number and percentage of seniors at most high schools in the region who had not yet met High School Assessment requirements as of earlier this month. The numbers are constantly changing; since these figures were calculated, 1,759 projects have been submitted in the city alone.

Posted by Sara Neufeld at 12:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)
Categories: Around the Region, Testing
        

Liz reports that, according to state officials, 4,660 seniors of 53,000 in the class of 2009 have yet to pass the HSAs.

In the city, though, 1,759 Bridge projects were submitted in March, and more than 75 percent of seniors have fulfilled their HSA/Bridge obligations. With one more test administration and two more project submission dates to go, Dr. Alonso says he's optimistic. As I mentioned yesterday, Northwestern had further to go than nearly every high school in the state last fall, and most of its seniors have gotten through; the principal predicts that only a handful of students who blew off opportunities for extra help will be denied diplomas.

Posted by Sara Neufeld at 10:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Around the Region
        

We received a response from the Maryland State Department of Education concerning the post last week about the length of the Maryland School Assessments now underway.

Yes, those teachers who thought the tests were shorter were right. The reading MSA was slighly shorter than last year by about six to nine minutes, depending on the grade being tested. The state department's spokesman, William Reinhard, said that's because officials did not need to "field test" as many items as last year. Every year the state adds questions that won't be counted in the result to see if they work. If they do, the questions will be used on subsequent tests.

So what was the difference? For third graders, the first day of testing was about five minutes shorter and the second day was four minutes shorter.

There was no change in the length of the math sections.

Posted by Liz Bowie at 5:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Around the Region
        

This is a guest entry from Sun metro editor Maryann James, who is at the FIRST robotics competition in Annapolis today. Her boyfriend is a volunteer with the team from Dunbar and Patterson high schools. She's also Tweeting about the competition: 

I'm here at the Field House in Annapolis, hanging with the Patterson/Dunbar team.

It's a low-key play day today, a time for the students to run scrimmages with their robots, get them inspected and scout out other teams to possibly align with later in the competition.

Teamwork and camaraderie are key in this competition. When I visited last year, I was struck by that -- students proudly wearing other teams' buttons, genuinely wishing each other good luck. If a team needs a spare cable or actuator, another group will gladly share.

I chatted with Rob Zienta from Owings Mills High School, whose first-year team has benefited from the help-all attitude. When a pipe burst, flooding the team's build room with four inches of water, Baltimore-area schools -- Liberty and Woodlawn high schools in particular -- came to its aid, he said, working until 1:30 on the weekends to fix its robot in time.

"Woodlawn helped get us in this mess," Zienta said, laughing. 
(Woodlawn convinced Owings Mills to start a team this year.)

I'll try to post more updates later. If you'd like to know more about a certain team, let me know!

Posted by Sara Neufeld at 2:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Around the Region
        

The Washington Post reports today that the District of Columbia schools chancellor wants to evaluate teachers on how well their individual students and their school as whole performs. The new evaluation system under consideration would include much more intensive classroom visits that might be conducted by professionals who don't work in the school. In most districts, principals and assistant principals are usually responsible for teacher evaluations.

In addition, Michelle Rhee said student test scores would be one part of the evaluation, but she said she believes the school district should focus on how much progress students make over time.

Rhee has been in negotiations with the union on a number of issues, but the evaluation system does not come under the contract, the Post reported.

Posted by Liz Bowie at 5:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Around the Region
        

There's a lot for Gov. Martin O'Malley to love about the latest proposal by the Obama administration to require a longitidunal tracking system in order for states to apply for stimulus funds.

The governor's always liked data collection. First there was CitiStat, a computerized tracking system he started when mayor of Baltmore that was designed to make government more efficient. Then came SchoolStat for the Baltimore city schools and then StateStat.

Not surprisingly, state school board president James H. DeGraffenreidt, Jr., stressed several times at the board meeting today how important it was that Nancy Grasmick keep the governor informed of all progress involved wiith getting the state database started. With a smile on his face, DeGraffenreidt described how O'Malley asks him about it right after he says, "Hi, how are you?" and suggested that perhaps he and Grasmick wouldn't get so many calls from the governor if they kept him regularly updated.

So let's see, what could the governor name this new teacher and student database? Any ideas?

Posted by Liz Bowie at 6:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Around the Region
        

Got an interesting call related to the online learning advocacy group I wrote about earlier this week.

Maryland Senator James C. Rosapepe filed a bill today titled "Funding Formula to Expand K-12 Online Education," which he says aims to build on the state’s already existing Maryland Virtual School. MVS provides online classes at the high school level.

"Basically, Maryland is way behind" when it comes to promoting online courses in public schools – especially when compared to states like Florida and other countries, Rosapepe said in a phone interview.

Part of the reason for that, Rosepepe said, is that the funding structure hasn’t kept up with the kids. So he’s drafted a bill to start catching up, and provide the money for virtual schooling to grow swiftly as the demand increases. For the students taking online classes, he proposes, 90 percent of the per-pupil spending that would normally go to the traditional schools would be directed to the virtual one. In other words, he said, the money would follow the student.

The proposal also calls for some money for an initial expansion of course offerings, ideally coming from the federal education stimulus funds, he said.

Besides providing access to more courses – including the ones that usually don’t get enough students enrolled for a traditional classroom – the virtual school also has the potential to save taxpayers money in the long run, Rosapepe said, citing the hundreds of millions state and local government pay annually for school construction.

When I get an official number for the proposed legislation, I’ll post a link.

Posted by Arin Gencer at 4:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (14)
Categories: Around the Region, Baltimore County
        

A handful of Baltimore County parents are in the process of incorporating a group to advocate for access to alternative education - particularly online instruction - for all Maryland students.

The idea for Emerging Minds of Maryland was born sometime last fall, said Kia Drake-Cummings, the organization's president and a mother of seven.  Drake-Cummings and several others regularly spoke at county school board meetings for months, asking board members to reconsider funding the Baltimore County Virtual Instruction Program - a one-year pilot done in conjunction with the Baltimore-based, online Connections Academy. 

When it became evident that they were getting nowhere, Drake-Cummings said she began thinking about forming a cooperative program, as home-schooling parents do to help socialize their children, or to exchange services and academic skills.  But then she realized this was "more than just a co-op," she said.  "We need to be working toward some other things."

She and a few others decided they needed strength in numbers - and a more official platform - to fight for their cause.

One of the key goals of Emerging Minds is to get access to online instruction for public school students - an appealing element of the county pilot.

Living up to their online emphasis, the founders have launched pages on Facebook and Twitter.

Posted by Arin Gencer at 10:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Around the Region, Baltimore County, Parents
        

The state has put out its yearly list of schools being honored for achievement on the Maryland  School Assessment and the High School Assessment. This year, 38.6 percent of high schools and 41.7 percent of elementary and middle schools are on the list.

To get on the list, schools either have to have a high level of achievement or have improved the achievement of students in one of several special populations such as English language learners and poor, minority and special education students.

There are 536 schools across the state in all that are being recognized, but only Title I schools servng a high percentage of poor children will get a small amount of money.

Posted by Liz Bowie at 6:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Around the Region
        

Now here's an idea that we here at InsidEd can get behind.

Senator Jack Reed, a Democrat from Rhode Island, sponsored legislation that the Senate approved that designated today as Read Across America Day. That isn't particularly news. We've been celebrating reading on a special day since 1998. You may recognize it as Dr. Seuss day.

But what is different this year is that Reed is encouraging adults to read newspapers to their children.

Yes. We say Hoorah! Newspapers need a little help these days.

Here's what Reed's press release said:

Continue reading "Read Across America highlights newspapers" »

Posted by Liz Bowie at 5:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Around the Region
        

If you're a parent or a teacher, you might have some interest in looking at the school-by-school breakdown of just what percentage of the Class of 2008 had passed one or more Advanced Placement exam during their high school career. We spent the last three weeks getting school systems to cough up the data. Some school systems were happy to help; others took much longer.

What the story in today's paper shows is that there is a tremendous amount of inequity and not just between the city schools and the suburban schools but also between schools within counties.

It is clear that some counties have been pushing their students to try AP tests. It used to be that only the "smart" high performing kids were steered into AP. Now it is open to anyone who wants to work hard.

Why do we care anyway? We care because studies have shown that even taking one AP course in high school appears to make a difference in whether students will graduate. Apparently, it doesn't matter whether the student even does well in the course. The point is getting used to a level of work and rigor that helps prepare for college.

Posted by Liz Bowie at 6:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)
Categories: Around the Region
        

The Maryland State Board of Education formally adopted a bullying policy this week that is aimed at making sure that school districts, which have varying bullying policies, have a uniform guide they can use to define bullying and harrassment.

The new policy, which was written at the behest of the legislature, also requires school systems to send a report to the state board in July of every year. And, by the way, yes, the policy does cover the use of cell phones in bullying.

Posted by Liz Bowie at 5:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Around the Region
        

We've talked a lot on this blog about student disciplinary problems, but not as much about how to prevent them... Last weekend in Timonium, the results of a national study were released suggesting that transcendental meditation can reduce the behavioral outbursts associated with ADHD. Researchers followed a group of middle school students with ADHD who were meditating twice a day in school. After three months, they found more than a 50-percent reduction in stress and anxiety and improvements in ADHD symptoms. The lead researcher, a cognitive learning specialist from George Washington University, said the effect was "much greater than we expected."

The study is published this month in the journal Current Issues in Education. And here's a video of kids talking about their experience meditating.

Posted by Sara Neufeld at 6:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Around the Nation, Around the Region, School Safety (Or Lack Thereof), Study, study!
        

It appears that state education officials are backing away from making a big deal out of labeling schools persistently dangerous, an exercise they have engaged in every July since the No Child Left Behind regulations took effect.

For years, Maryland has been one of the few states that took the labeling seriously. So it ended up at one point having the majority of schools in the nation with a label that was both onerous and embarrasing for schools. After getting a lot of criticism, the state board decided to revisit the policy. But state school superintendent Nancy Grasmick doesn't think there is much point spending a lot of time rewriting a policy when it looks as though the feds are going to axe it anyway during the NCLB reauthorization (whenever it finally happens).

The board had a few minutes of discussion about it today and then moved on to other subjects. So the question still remains, will Grasmick decide to not put out a list this year?

"We think it would be a relief if it didn't have to be such a public event," Grasmick said.

Posted by Liz Bowie at 7:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: Around the Region
        

Gov. O'Malley announced this afternoon that he is withdrawing the changes in education funding formulas that would have hurt Baltimore and Prince George's County so badly. In 2012, they'll need to fight again over the distribution of payment for non-public placement for special education students. (The governor's proposal to shift the burden to the locals is deferred until then.) But otherwise -- and I'm still waiting for comment from Dr. Alonso -- it looks like the city schools are getting almost everything they asked for. With the influx of stimulus money, Baltimore will get $84 million more in FY10 than previously projected. Prince George's County will get $72 million more.

UPDATE: Here's our story with more specifics. And see below for the statement put out by the city school system tonight.

Continue reading "A victory for Baltimore, P.G. County schools in Annapolis" »

Posted by Sara Neufeld at 3:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)
Categories: Around the Region, Baltimore City, School Finance
        

Del. Gerron S. Levi, a Prince George's County Democrat, has introduced four bills that collectively she calls "The Campaign to Restore Respect at School." Under HB 630, parents and guardians whose children have been repeatedly suspended or chronically absent would lose access to some state tax benefits if they do not attend teacher conferences and make use of community services. HB 631 would mandate jail time for assaulting a teacher, principal, school bus driver or other school personnel. HB 632 would require that all teachers receive some classroom management training before teaching in a Maryland classroom, whether they're educated in the state or not. And HB 633 would require Maryland employers to provide four hours per year of leave -- paid or unpaid -- for parents and guardians to attend discipline-related teacher conferences.

Levi is a longtime proponent of parents and students taking responsibility for their actions. She says this legislation is in response to data showing that discipline issues are driving teachers and principals from the state's most challenging schools. A survey of departing Prince George's teachers found student discipline the No. 1 reason for leaving.

Guess who Levi wants to testify at a hearing for her legislation? Jolita Berry.

Posted by Sara Neufeld at 6:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Around the Region
        

The governor today announced the creation of the TELL Maryland survey (that's short for Teaching, Empowering, Leading and Learning). Between now and mid-March, all teachers, principals and other certified personnel in the state's public schools will get a login and password for a Web-based survey. The point is to gather information about school conditions, teacher satisfaction and areas for improvement. Surveys will be confidential and take about 30 minutes to complete. (Yes, I know, teachers in the city already have to do another school climate survey.) The TELL project is costing the state about $100,000.

O'Malley made the survey announcement at Germantown Elementary in Annapolis, where kids holding giant "Maryland Public Schools #1" foam gloves patiently waited for him for more than an hour on the gymnasium floor. It was kind of funny listening to the governor and other distinguished guests (Nancy Grasmick, Clara Floyd of MSTA, Anne Arundel Superintendent Kevin Maxwell) addressing the students in teacher-like voices while trying to weave in facts about the survey for the media there.

"Can you learn if you don't listen to your teachers?" O'Malley asked.

"NO!" the kids yelled.

"We can't learn if we don't listen to your teachers," the governor replied.

I lost count of how many times Maryland's No. 1 ranking by Education Week was mentioned during the event. Suffice it to say, it was a lot.

Posted by Sara Neufeld at 7:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Around the Region
        

I received this response from a former teacher to my story on Maryland seniors scoring well on AP exams.

Posted by Liz Bowie at 3:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: Around the Region
        

My story today about a new character education initiative at Baltimore County's Kenwood High School is really just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to this field.

I came across a lot of interesting information about a variety of models used throughout the state, and thought I'd share some of those additional details here.

Several people I spoke with emphasized the importance of data in using these programs. Tom Zirpoli, a McDaniel College education professor, mentioned how tricky it can be to link behavioral changes directly back to school or classroom discussions about honesty or other principles. Nancy Hanlin, one of the Kenwood teachers who also happens to be the attendance and tardiness monitor, mentioned trying to figure out a way to do just that.   

Continue reading "Character education in schools" »

Posted by Arin Gencer at 11:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Around the Region, Baltimore County
        

The College Board released its annual Advanced Placement report this morning. Out of all 50 states and the District of Columbia, Maryland had the highest percentage of students with a passing score on at least one A.P. exam: 23.4 percent of the class of 2008, compared with about 15 percent nationally. Maryland is also one of six states highlighted in the report with the highest five-year gains.

The state today is calling attention to six high schools for their A.P. achievement: Polytechnic Institute in the city; Franklin, Perry Hall and Pikesville in Baltimore County; Broadneck in Anne Arundel County; and River Hill in Howard County -- plus two that were specifically singled out by the College Board, Eleanor Roosevelt in Prince George's County and Paint Branch in Montgomery County.

Posted by Sara Neufeld at 11:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (14)
Categories: Around the Nation, Around the Region, Testing
        

I am posting above a presentation that the state Department of Legislative Services made last week to the Maryland Associations of Boards of Education, outlining how much school districts would get under the revised funding formulas the governor has proposed.

Bottom line: While the direct cut from this year to next is in fact $67 million (see page 9), the overall loss from what districts had expected to see under Thornton is $140 million. And once again, Baltimore and Prince George's bear the brunt of the loss.

Keep in mind that school districts' basic costs increase by at least 3 percent a year, largely because of step increases in employee salaries.

On page 8, you can see how much the state saves by changing calculations such as the cost of private placement for special education students: $102.5 million. Then there's the reduction in GCEI, the geographic cost index for districts where the cost of living is higher. That's another $38 million.

It's true that some of these cuts would be offset by the federal economic stimulus package, but that's a one-time gift. If the funding formulas change, it's for good -- until there's further legislative action.

The advocacy group BUILD has planned another rally for 6 p.m. tonight at the city delegation room in Annapolis to protest the changes.

Posted by Sara Neufeld at 6:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Around the Region
        

So we all know that Maryland schools ranked No. 1 in the recent Education Week Quality Counts report. And in case we'd forgotten, Gov. O'Malley reminded us yesterday in his state of the state address. Now, some new rankings are out, highlighting what seems to be a pretty big weakness for Maryland: teacher recruitment and retention.

The National Council on Teacher Quality, which has had reports critical of Maryland education policy before and is headed by Maryland state school board member Kate Walsh, is giving the state a D-minus for its policies involving new teachers. In particular: Maryland gets an F for "identifying effective new teachers," a D-plus for "retaining effective new teachers," and a D-plus for "exiting ineffective new teachers." Look here to see how other states compare. The average grade was a D-plus.

Keep in mind that the "teaching profession" category was where Maryland fared worst in the EdWeek rankings. If you recall, even though we were No. 1, we only got a B grade overall, largely because our average was brought down by a C-minus in that category, which measured essentially the same thing as the council's new report.

Posted by Sara Neufeld at 6:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (15)
Categories: Around the Region, Teaching
        

Boy, the condition of Maryland's schools sure sounded great listening to the governor's state of the state address today. Children from Armistead Gardens Elementary were on hand as he praised them for their high math scores -- the best in Baltimore, he said -- and touted the state's No. 1 ranking by Education Week. "Let's say it again, shall we?" he said. "Maryland has the best public schools in America." Later, he said that "we are proposing the largest investment our State has ever made in our public schools of $5.4 billion, even in these tough times."

Gov. O'Malley did not mention the $69 million in cuts he has proposed to education, including $23 million to Baltimore. The cuts would be the result of proposed changes in funding formulas that would leave the city and Prince George's schools closing budget shortfalls for years to come -- in spite of short-term aid from the federal economic stimulus package. Dr. Alonso spoke out strongly again this morning on the Larry Young Show on WOLB-AM, and it looks like a coalition is starting to form around him. Marvin "Doc" Cheatham of the Baltimore NAACP called in at the end of the radio segment to lend his support.

Posted by Sara Neufeld at 5:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: Around the Region, Baltimore City